When I said that outstanding people would be ostracized, the "outstanding" here only meant being a little better than ordinary people. Yet that alone was enough to drive most people mad with jealousy, while those so-called outstanding people couldn't think of a way to deal with it...
"Hold it!" Utaha Kasumigaoka spoke up again. "Sogo, you haven't done something at Toyogasaki that we don't know about too, have you?"
"No. This is precisely the main reason why I said that 'outstanding people have it harder' is a false proposition..."
"What do you mean?"
"Outstanding people may be envied, but what if they're surrounded by other outstanding people—outstanding people who all know each other?"
Utaha Kasumigaoka: "..."
Ah... so that was it.
Before she could speak, however, Sogo Doma continued, "Would you be jealous of Yukinoshita?"
"Me, jealous of her?" Utaha Kasumigaoka puffed out her chest. The meaning behind that gesture was... well, should it be called obvious, or...?
"Then do you think Yukinoshita would be jealous of you?"
"No..." Utaha Kasumigaoka shook her head. "If I could make Yukinoshita jealous, then being envied would be worth it..."
"That sounds pretty masochistic," Sogo Doma said, shooting her a glance.
"Isn't it?"
"Well..." Sogo Doma did not linger on the subject. It couldn't be helped—Yukinoshita's character had already become deeply ingrained in everyone's minds. "Then would you be jealous of Mashiro?"
"I think I understand..." The hint had been far too obvious, and Utaha Kasumigaoka suddenly realized. "But why is even that inexplicable feeling of being excluded disappearing...?"
"How could one group isolate another? Especially when one group is utterly ordinary while the other is exceptionally talented. No matter how much the former tried to spin things, they couldn't cover it up. Anyone with eyes could tell who the problem was. And